A Vietnamese woman has been sentenced to death after authorities said she poisoned four relatives with cyanide over nearly two years, killing three of them — including two children.
Nguyen Thi Hong Bich was convicted of murder and of illegally possessing, transporting and using toxic substances following a first-instance trial at the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Court, according to Tuổi Trẻ, VnExpress, Người Lao Động and Công An Nhân Dân (CAND).
Judges handed Bich a death sentence for murder and an additional 15 years in prison for the toxic-substances offense, with the combined sentence being death, the outlets reported. Prosecutors described the crimes as deliberate and inhumane, alleging Bich repeatedly used cyanide to target members of her family.
Bich told the court she began thinking about purchasing cyanide after contemplating suicide herself. When she bought the substance, she claimed she needed it for “gold washing,” VnExpress reported.
Prosecutors said the first alleged poisoning involved her husband, Nguyen Thoai Thanh The, on Jan. 5, 2023. They said Bich emptied a capsule he typically took for stomach pain and refilled it with cyanide, VnExpress reported. The later died in October 2023 — about 10 months later — and his death initially did not raise suspicion among relatives, according to VnExpress.
During questioning, Bich told the court she had purchased life insurance policies for her husband and children years earlier and said she received about 500 million VND after her husband’s death, VnExpress reported. The outlet also reported investigators said there was no evidence confirming cyanide caused two other family deaths discussed during the hearing.
The case later widened amid ongoing feuds and money disputes within the family. Bich told the court she poisoned her niece and nephews because of hatred tied to conflicts with her siblings — not because of animosity toward the children themselves, the outlets reported.
According to VnExpress, on Jan. 1, 2024, Bich mixed cyanide into a drink and gave it to a young child relative, who later died. Tuổi Trẻ and Người Lao Động also reported that the child died after consuming a cyanide-laced drink, though they differed on the child’s age.
VnExpress reported that on May 25, 2024, Bich targeted another child relative after seeing him lying in a hammock playing games, allegedly mixing cyanide into a bottle of water. Tuổi Trẻ and Người Lao Động reported that the boy later died despite being taken to the hospital.
In June 2024, Bich poisoned a fourth relative — a teenager — who survived after collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. Doctors later found cyanide in his stomach and alerted the family, the outlets reported.
That failed attempt ultimately brought the alleged series of poisonings to light. Tuổi Trẻ reported that judges said the teenager survived by chance, not because Bich changed her mind.
In her final statement to the court, Bich cried, bowed her head and apologized to surviving relatives, asking for forgiveness, the outlets reported.
